As a refresher, an Apple A5X processor that has seen its onboard RAM double from 512MB to 1GB powers the new iPad. The A5X is also blessed with a quad-core GPU which boosts gaming performance and helps feed the new iPad's biggest new feature: a 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina display. Other niceties include a 5MP rear-facing camera, and optional LTE connectivity.

On the negative side, the weight and thickness of the iPad has grown to accommodate a new 42.5 watt-hour battery (the iPad 2 had a 25 watt-hour battery). In addition, Apple is once again being stingy with storage capacities on the iPad. Even though app sizes are doubling or even tripling in some cases due to Retina support, Apple is holding firm with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities -- the same lineup as when the first generation iPad launched in 2010.

Tonight, however, we're getting our first look at what the new iPad can do courtesy of a flood of reviews. Here are some select excerpts from the reviews that are currently available:

Joshua Topolsky of The Verge gives his thoughts on the iPad 3's gorgeous new Retina display:

Yes, this display is outrageous. It's stunning. It's incredible. I'm not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at…

You literally can't see pixels on the iPad's display when you hold it at a regular distance, and even up close you have to really inspect the thing to see dots. For rendered text or high resolution images, it just looks otherworldly; like a glowing piece of paper.

The difference between the iPad 2's display and the new iPad's Retina display [Source: The Verge]

Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD fame touched on the battery life of the new iPad. While it's not quite the power-sipper as its predecessor, it still posts some impressive numbers.

Apple claims up to 10 hours of battery life between charges, and up to nine hours if you are relying strictly on cellular connectivity. In my standard battery test, where I play videos back to back with both cellular and Wi-Fi on, and the screen at 75% brightness, the new iPad logged 9 hours and 58 minutes, compared with 10 hours and 9 minutes for the iPad 2. Other tablets died hours sooner in the same test. In more normal use, the new iPad lasted more than a full day, though not as long as the iPad 2 did.

The original iPad didn't have any cameras at all, while the iPad 2 came with a standard front-facing camera for FaceTime and an incredibly subpar rear-facing camera for pictures and 720p video. The new iPad can now features a 5MP camera and bumps video recording up to 1080p. Vincent Nguyen of SlashGear gives his thoughts on the new optics:

Apple says it has borrowed the camera technology and optics from the iPhone 4S for the new iPad, though still the 5-megapixel images the tablet is capable of do lag behind the 8-megapixel examples from the smartphone. There’s more visible noise and chromatic aberrations at full zoom, though the quality is far, far better than any stills the iPad 2 can achieve. You also get face recognition for up to ten people per frame, automatically adjusting focus and exposure, but the camera app UI itself is no more complex than before.

While the actual CPU hasn't improved much over the iPad 2, the integrated GPU has definitely been turbocharged, as witnessed by Jason Snell of MacWorld:

That power comes from the X factor in the A5X processor—a new quad-core graphics engine. And sure enough, the third-generation iPad blows away every other iOS device in terms of graphics performance. In our tests using the GLBench 3D graphics testing app, the third-generation iPad could draw a complex 3D scene at the full frame rate of its display, 60 frames per second, without breaking a sweat. And in GLBench offscreen tests, which aren’t constrained by the display’s frame rate, the third-generation iPad had a frame rate 1.6 times that of the iPad 2 (and 13 times that of the original iPad).

[Source: MacWorld]

Overall, the new iPad seems to be another solid entry into the tablet field for Apple. It holds the line on CPU performance and battery life (at the expense of device thickness and weight) while offering an impressive Retina display, optional LTE, and a tremendous boost in graphics performance. Pricing remains the same as previous iPad model ($499/$599/$699 for Wi-Fi; add $130 for LTE models), but Apple still doesn't have the guts to give users an increase in storage capacities.

To sum things up, Joshua Topolsky offers these words of advice:

Let's be clear: the new iPad is in a class by itself, just as its predecessor was. As the latest product in a lineage of devices that defined this category, the iPad continues to stand head and shoulders above the competition. With the addition of the Retina display, LTE, more memory, and a more powerful CPU, Apple has absolutely held onto the iPad's market position as the dominant player and product to beat.

Comments

Threshold

Username

Password

remember me

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Android as DLNA but if you don't have equipment to use it(just like Apple) what's the point. The apps well Android has all the main apps that most people use. I would say the main reason you need so many apps for Apple is the lack of support for flash and lack of web site support for HTML 5. And for display really after 1080p at 60fps what more do you need? Games yes but movies not really 720p works for most people but not us tech geeks lol. Now memory that where I think you right for now. I think most people are good with about 32gb. That being said once you start getting these bigger app (to use the higher displays coming out) and HD movie (which are getting easier to get) downloads more memory (which is easier and cheaper to do on Android) is going to be needed. The core count I agree with you is way over rated. Most app and OS's don't even use duel cores well. Heck the new S4(duel core) is beating Nvidia T3(quad core) in most test. So core count means nothing right now.

I think the real fight for both will be when Windows 8 drops. It looks like it's going to have the best of both( a walled open garden lol) worlds. With Flash, Office and all Windows programs (I know the arm cpus can't use the old programs and might not have flash but intel/amd can!!!!) in one tap!! If Windows 8 tabs come out at around 399 to 499 its going to beat that hard for both.

There is a difference. For WP7, Microsoft jumped into an established market with everything new. For an intel based Win8 tablet, they are using the evolution of their 20 year long number 1 selling worldwide OS as leverage. I don't think that WOA tablets will be very successful against iPad style tablets, but if Intel lives up to their claims, and can come up with an x86 design that will compete with ARM on power efficiency, while still being as powerful as current notebook CPUs, then there will be a game changer.

Adobe is killing mobile Flash because it now agrees with Apple that HTML5 and native apps are the superior options. You can't use an argument that was not only inherently flawed to start with but which has been dropped by its main supporter!

The "but we have our main apps!" argument also doesn't work. As I said, a tablet is all about its apps. You need more than just the common base of apps for the tablet to really fly; otherwise, what's the point of the "freedom" of an Android tablet if you're doing just a fraction of the things an iPad user is doing? Part of the beauty of a tablet is doing things that wouldn't be practical on a notebook.

As for Windows 8, be prepared for major disappointment. Intel-based tablets will not cost $399 or $499. They basically can't. And Flash or Office? Guess what -- they show up in the traditional desktop environment, not the touch-native Metro UI. So you'll basically be using Windows 7 when you use those, and kicking back to Metro for everything else. The core UI is promising, but it'll be an OS with a personality disorder and a high entry price.

You sir are the very definition of the pompous Apple Fan. It is your "I'm superior to everybody else, because I own an Idevice" attitude that I can't stand. Why is it so important to you that your iPad is better than what everybody else has? Why don't you want others to be satisfied with their android tablets? You remind me of the Jehovah's witnesses who go door to door trying to convince people to join their religion because it's better than your religion. Are you a prophet in the religion of Apple? Do you prey nightly to your lord and savior Steve Jobs now that he has ascended to heaven (or descended into hell)?

Or maybe it's none of these things and you're just trying to justify the money you spent (overpaid) for your iPhone/iPad?

Did I deny that you can be satisfied with an Android tablet? I never said that -- not once.

What I'm saying is that it's hard to get excited about them, and there are enough areas where the iPad is clearly better (display, real-world speed, app ecosystem, media features) that a lot of the arguments for current Android tablets don't hold up. Many of them are based on dead stereotypes.

Speaking of dead stereotypes, there is a delicious, delicious irony to you claiming someone has "overpaid" for an iPad. Go price an HTC Jetstream, ASUS Transformer Prime, or Galaxy Tab 7.7 without a contract and then get back to me on what overpriced is.

As an Android fan, I can say that the new ipad looks very nice. I applaud Apple for raising the bar on resolution, both phone and tablet now. Great job. The iPad is good... You on the other hand, act like kind of a douche. The very nature of your original post above screams douchbaggery. BTW, Android 4 rocks in as many ways as the new iPad does. IOS is showing its age and needs a modern stimulus upgrade big-time. At this point in time I would say the iPad is the best hardware out there, but is being held back by its outdated OS.

What are most tabs used for right now is for multimedia and web. Flash right now is the standard really for multimedia on the web. I know Flash is (so is sliverlight) dead on mobile. The writing for both was on the wall with HTML 5 coming. The point I was trying to make was the reason why Apple need more apps. It takes a lot to run Flash (which Android shows) well. Apple said no Android said yes. So for Apple you need apps to do many of the thing you can do on web browser. With Android it not such a big deal. When HTML 5 becomes a standard (in like 2 years) then there will be no need for Flash or other media plug-ins really, it will all be apart of the web standard. As of right now you need Flash to really get the best multimedia web experience or you can do Apple and download 10-20 apps to do the same thing. Would/do you really need a YouTube, Facebook, bank, or other apps that come with most tabs if you can do it in web browser, nope. Yes Apps are easier to deal with on a phone screen but on tab not really. When you have 7" to 10" screen Apps seem limited and really weaker compared to Flash (which Android Tabs are showing with it's smaller App base) based web sites. So what are the 50 top apps on both anyway mainly games. Games Apps are what are downloaded the most on Tabs right now and most games are available on both so a big App base means nothing really. So what other apps/programs could people want/need if they dont want to play games all day? Office, 3dmax, Photoshop or other windows based programs/app maybe.

That where Windows 8 for tabs comes in. Office is going to be a part of (so say Microsoft) it. You know most company with real useful programs/app are going to remake their programs/app work for it, a lot of IT people are going to be happier deal with it then Apple/Android (which means company will by them) Tabs, and those people who are on the fence about Tabs (for whatever reason) can now justify (its for work or school) buying one now. Flash nor sliverlight work for Windows 8 tab right now but you know is coming. We all know that (even if a lot of us hate it) Windows is basically the standard OS for PC's at home, work, or school. Its going to sell and if it works as go as Microsoft says with their other stuff (phone, xbox, kinect, and skydive) its going to sell even better. Can it come out at 399 or less, yes. Look at netbooks, you can get them at 199 on up. With Asus coming out with 7" T3 and 10" T3 for 249 and 399. Im sure in another 6 months there can be Windows Tabs in that price range.

As far as Android being overpriced, both are. 3g/4g or WiFi there are a lot of Tabs that are way overpriced for what you can really use them for. That's why Fire is selling so well. For what most people use a Tab for it does ok. Can it do Flash, read eBooks and look at movies, yes! Will it over take Ipad with it's next update, maybe. Will Apple try can sue them, you can bet on it lol!!